Joseph T. Bendik (born April 25, 1989) is an American retired professional

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

player who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

. He is currently the assistant goalkeeping coach for

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

club Chicago Fire.

Club career

Clemson

Bendik grew up in

Marietta, Georgia Marietta is a city in and the county seat of Cobb County, Georgia, United States. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 60,972. The 2019 estimate was 60,867, making it one of Atlanta's largest suburbs. Marietta is the fourth largest ...

and attended

Clemson University Clemson University () is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university near Clemson, South Carolina, United States. - The blue-shaded pattern denotes university property. This shows Clemson University is ''out ...

for four years after graduating from Harrison High School in

Kennesaw, Georgia Kennesaw is a suburban city northwest of Atlanta in Cobb County, Georgia, United States, located within the greater Atlanta metropolitan area. Known from its original settlement in the 1830s until 1887 as Big Shanty, it became Kennesaw under i ...

Sogndal

After university, Bendik signed with Norwegian club

Sogndal Sogndal is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is located on the northern shore of the Sognefjorden in the Districts of Norway, traditional district of Sogn. The village of Hermansv ...

. He began the 2010 season as a backup, and made his professional debut in the first round of the

Norwegian Cup The Norwegian Football Cup () is the main knockout cup competition in Norwegian football. It is run by the Football Association of Norway and has been contested since 1902, making it the oldest football tournament in the country. The tournament ...

against

Årdal FK Årdal Fotballklubb is a Norwegian football club from Øvre Årdal in Årdal municipality, founded on 9 October 2003 as a merger between the football branches of ''IL Jotun'' and ''Årdalstangen IL'' on senior level. The club was known as Jotun � ...

. Bendik ended the season starting in four league matches helping his club gain promotion to the Norwegian top flight. Bendik began the 2011 season as the starter and made his

Tippeligaen Eliteserien () is a professional association football league in Norway and the highest level of the Norwegian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Norwegian First Division ...

debut on March 20, 2011, against

Strømsgodset IF Strømsgodset IF is a Norwegian multi-sports club from Gulskogen in Drammen. It has sections for association football, handball and bandy, but is best known for the top-level football section known as Strømsgodset Toppfotball, which plays in Elit ...

. He ended the year starting the final two matches of the season, including a 2–1 victory over eventual league champions

Molde FK Molde Fotballklubb () is a association football, football club based in Molde Municipality, Molde, Norway, that competes in Eliteserien, the top flight of Norwegian football league system, Norwegian football. Founded on 19 June 1911, the club w ...

Portland Timbers

On February 24, 2012, Bendik signed with the

Portland Timbers The Portland Timbers are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The Timbers have p ...

MLS Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanctioned by the United ...

. He made his Timbers debut as a second-half sub for an injured

Troy Perkins Troy Perkins (born July 29, 1981) is an American former soccer player. During his career, he played for clubs in the United States, Canada, and Norway. The 2006 Major League Soccer Goalkeeper of the Year award winner earned seven caps with the ...

in a 2–0 loss to the Montreal Impact.

Toronto FC

On December 12, 2012, Bendik was acquired by

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matc ...

along with Portland's third overall pick in the

2013 MLS SuperDraft The 2013 MLS SuperDraft was the fourteenth SuperDraft presented by Major League Soccer. The draft took place on January 17, 2013 in Indianapolis, Indiana at the Indiana Convention Center. The Colorado Rapids enjoyed returns from the 2013 draf ...

in exchange for Ryan Johnson and

Miloš Kocić Miloš Kocić ( sr-Cyrl, Милош Koцић; born June 4, 1985) is a Serbian former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. Career Youth and college Kocić was born in Socialis ...

. While originally considered a back-up, Bendik went on to make 33 appearances for Toronto during the 2013 season after starting goalkeeper

Stefan Frei Stefan Frei (born 20 April 1986) is a Swiss professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for Major League Soccer club Seattle Sounders FC. Born in Switzerland, Frei moved with his fam ...

was injured during a pre-season friendly. On December 1, 2015, it was announced that

had declined their options on Bendik, and that he would not return to the team. Along with Bendik, fellow goalkeeper Chris Konopka's options were also declined, leaving the team with only one goalkeeper Quillain Roberts.

Orlando City SC

On December 21, 2015, it was announced that Bendik had been traded to Orlando City in exchange for a conditional fourth-round pick in the

2017 MLS SuperDraft The 2017 MLS SuperDraft was the eighteenth SuperDraft conducted by Major League Soccer. The SuperDraft is held each year in conjunction with the annual National Soccer Coaches Association of America convention. The first two rounds of the 2017 ...

. Despite conceding a league high 60 goals for that season in his first league campaign with Orlando, Bendik became a fan favorite as he played every minute of the club's 34 league games, making 114 saves and posting 5 shutouts. He won 11 "MLS Save of the Week" awards in the process and his stop against Sporting Kansas City's

Dom Dwyer Dominic James Dwyer (born July 30, 1990) is a professional association football, soccer player who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for EFL League One club Mansfield Town F.C., Mansfield Town. Born in England, he played for the ...

in the Lions' 2–1 road loss on May 15 was voted the winner of the

MLS Save of the Year Award The MLS Save of the Year Award is awarded by Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises ...

. After a difficult 2018 season in which the team conceded an all-time MLS record 74 goals and Bendik himself had lost the starting job to both Earl Edwards, Jr. and then again to Adam Grinwis, his contract option was declined at the end of the year. At the time of his departure he had the second most appearances in the team's post-expansion history behind only

Cristian Higuita Cristian Higuita (born 12 January 1994) is a Colombian footballer who plays as a midfielder for Atlético Junior in Categoría Primera A. Club career Deportivo Cali Higuita made his debut with Deportivo Cali in 2009. A year later, he played a ...

Columbus Crew SC

On December 27, 2018, Bendik's rights were acquired by

Columbus Crew SC The Columbus Crew are an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team began play in 1996 as one of the 10 charter clubs of the league. ...

in exchange for $50,000 in targeted allocation money.

Philadelphia Union

On July 19, 2019, Bendik was traded to the Philadelphia Union for a second-round pick in the 2020

MLS SuperDraft The MLS SuperDraft is an annual Draft (sports), college draft for teams of Major League Soccer in the United States and Canada in which MLS clubs take turns selecting from a pool of eligible amateur players. These drafted players usually come f ...

. Bendik's contract expired with Philadelphia following their 2020 season. He re-signed with the club on March 5, 2021. Bendik again re-signed with the Union following their MLS Eastern Conference Championship season in 2022 on a one-year deal for the 2023 season. Bendik was elevated to the Union's No. 2 goalkeeper following the trade of Matt Freese to the New York City Football Club. On December 4, 2023, the

Philadelphia Union The Philadelphia Union are an American professional soccer club based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Founded on February 28, 2008, the Union began ...

announced that they have confirmed Bendik's departure.

Vancouver Whitecaps

On February 17, 2024, it was announced Bendik signed a contract with

Vancouver Whitecaps Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Vancouver. The Whitecaps compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. The MLS iteration of the club was established on March 18, ...

through the 2024 season with a club option to extend for 2025.

Coaching career

On January 8, 2025, Bendik joined the coaching staff of the Chicago Fire as the assistant goalkeeping coach.

International career

Bendik has represented the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

at the under-17, under-18 and under-20 levels. On June 3, Bendik was named as one of six goalkeepers in Bruce Arena's preliminary 40-man roster for the 2017 Gold Cup, although he was left off the final 23-man squad.

Career statistics

Club

Honors

Sogndal *

Norwegian First Division The Norwegian First Division, also called 1. divisjon () and OBOS-ligaen (due to sponsoring ties with :no:OBOS, OBOS), is the second-highest level of the Norwegian football league system. Each year, the top finishing teams in the 1. divisjon ...

Championship:

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

Philadelphia Union *

Supporters' Shield The Supporters' Shield is an annual award given to the Major League Soccer team with the best regular season record, as determined by the MLS points system. The Supporters' Shield has been annually awarded at the MLS Supporters' Summit since 199 ...

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

Individual *

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

References

External links

*
altomfotball.no player profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bendik, Joe 1989 births Living people American men's soccer players American expatriate men's soccer players Clemson Tigers men's soccer players Atlanta Silverbacks U23's players Sogndal Fotball players Portland Timbers players Toronto FC players Orlando City SC players Columbus Crew players Philadelphia Union players Vancouver Whitecaps FC players Sportspeople from Marietta, Georgia Soccer players from Cobb County, Georgia Expatriate men's footballers in Norway Expatriate men's soccer players in Canada USL League Two players Norwegian First Division players Eliteserien players American people of Norwegian descent Major League Soccer players United States men's youth international soccer players United States men's under-20 international soccer players Men's association football goalkeepers Association football goalkeeping coaches Chicago Fire FC non-playing staff